Athena Award Program

The ATHENA Award honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of professional accomplishment: women who excel in their chosen field, have devoted time and energy to their community in a meaningful way and also open doors so that others may follow in their path.

Qualifications:

Nominee must have a proven record of contribution to the business and/or financial growth of her company or organization.
Nominee must demonstrate in her career ongoing advancement or progressive job growth, as well as significant leadership accomplishments and other achievements and milestones along the way.
Nominee must possess a minimum of five years of professional business experience.
Nominee is not required to be a member of the Chamber or to be employed by a Chamber member firm. However, her employment must be within the Chamber service area encompassing the Mahoning Valley.
Nominee may be from either for-profit or not-for-profit sectors.
Previous ATHENA nominees are eligible for nomination.
ATHENA co-presenter, The Vindicator, members of the ATHENA Committee and Selection Committee are not eligible for nomination.

Dr. Virginia Banks, accepting the 2023 ATHENA Award

Evaluation Categories and Criteria

Nominees will be evaluated according to the following categories:

BUSINESS/PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS 60%
Demonstrated significant, measurable achievements that have produced exceptional organizational impact. Areas of concentration include profitability and/or financial impact, quality, customer/employee satisfaction and strategic planning.

COMMUNITY SERVICE 20%
Provided valuable leadership service to the community.

SUPPORT FOR PROFESSIONAL WOMEN 20%
Exhibited active support for and involvement in the goals of professional women (beyond daily/regular job responsibilities).

Selection Process

A Selection Committee comprised of prominent business leaders from our community and past ATHENA recipients will review all nominations to ensure that candidates fit the qualifications of an ATHENA nominee. All finalists will receive a confirmation letter and ATHENA Nominee Questionnaire by Wednesday March 18, 2024, and must be available for orientation from 2:30-5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

All ATHENA nominees will be recognized, and the 2024 ATHENA Award recipient will be announced, at the ATHENA Award Dinner on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield.

Separate invitations will be mailed in April for the dinner.

Nomination Procedure

Nominator is required to make a “courtesy call” to Kim Calvert, Sr. Vice President of Marketing & Member Services at the Regional Chamber, at 330.744.2131, ext. 1235, to prevent the duplication of nominees, as well as to ensure that a potential nominee fits the criteria if nominator is unsure.
Complete the nomination form as thoroughly as possible to ensure a comprehensive profile of your nominee.
A CURRENT RESUME must accompany all nomination forms.
Completed nomination forms must be received NO LATER THAN MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2024.

Selection Process and Nominating

2024 ATHENA Award Nomination Form

Completing the form:
Nominations for the ATHENA Award should be submitted using the nomination form above. Please save a copy of the completed form and email to Kim Calvert. If necessary, one additional typed page of information may also be submitted. WE CANNOT ACCEPT HANDWRITTEN DOCUMENTS.

2024 Athena Partnership Form

Sponsorship Opportunities:
Participating as a sponsor for the 2024 ATHENA Award Program not only will help honor your nominee, but is also a powerful marketing opportunity to enhance your organization’s visible commitment to the community, leadership development and our Valley’s success stories.

ATHENA SCHOLARSHIP 2024

The ATHENA Scholarship is now accepting scholarship applications for 2024 through the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. Online submissions are due by end of day March 1, 2024, and award/declination notifications will be provided to applicants by the end of June 2024.

Reminder! Students complete one common application to be considered for multiple scholarship opportunities at the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. CFMV's system will determine which scholarships the applicant is eligible for based on the applicant's responses to a set of standard questions. The applicant will be immediately notified of which scholarships they will be considered for and may be prompted to provide additional information necessary for certain scholarships.

To apply, students should visit the scholarship page on www.cfmv.org and be certain their scholarship application is submitted by end of day March 1, 2024.